SEBI Effect: Actis Revises Public Offer In Phoenix Lamps To Rs 190 A Share
Private equity fund Actis has decided to increase the open offer price of Phoenix Lamps by 25 per cent to Rs 190 a share. This is following an order by market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India, which maintained that the public investors should get the same price as promoters even if a part of it’s paid as non-compete premium. The revised open offer will open on February 5 and close on February 24.
The open offer was triggered after Actis bought a 37 per cent stake in Phoenix Lamps from its promoters, the Gupta family, last year. The acquisition was at Rs 152 a share plus Rs 38 as non-compete fee which worked out to Rs 190 for the promoters.
Actis however offered only Rs 152 a share during the public offer. SEBI was opposed to this and directed Actis to buy shares at the same price the promoters received. Earlier, SEBI had asked the German cement company HeidelbergCements to raise the open offer price by 25 per cent to Rs 72.50 a share, the price it had agreed to pay the promoters including non-compete fees. But Heidelberg has taken this to the Securities Appellate Tribunal.
